The "collectibles" as they're often referred to by volunteers from the Friends of the Billings Public Library, include volumes believed to be from the mid-19th century, autographed copies, Montana histories and anniversary editions of famous novels.
The collectibles were up for sale Friday as the Friends of the Billings Public Library fall used book sale opened to the public.
Except when the biannual book sales take place, the collectibles remain in storage.
Mixed in among the collectibles are texts catering to specific interests. Friday afternoon as the sale's first day wound down, a history of cowboy hats sat a table away from "Submachine Guns of the United States of America."
Set aside nearby was a 1981 illustrated edition of "Historic Homes of Billings."
"This is kind of the treasure box," said Joedi Johnson, one of two volunteers tasked with pricing the collection of odds and ends. "There are certain people who come here, and if they don't have these kind of special books and it's all the new books, I don't think they'd be happy, because they want to have little weird treasures that they might be able to find."
Montana histories are especially popular, Johnson said, gesturing toward a history of the town of Huntley. Johnson also leafed through copies of Billings Senior High yearbooks from the early 1920s. Called the "Kyote," one edition had both historical photographs of Billings and illustrations from a student.
Many of the books — like a battered collection of poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow dated 1849 — are only $5. Prices can rise to $50 or more depending on the value of the books.
"Honestly, if I see a person that really needs to have a book, we want to be sure they go home with it, whatever it takes. We might even have to sneak it into their car," Johnson said. "If it isn't enough of a deal, we could fix that."
Johnson said that earlier in the day she'd worked on the price of a "beautiful" book from the 1920s about Egypt in order to make sure a woman interested in the book could buy it.
Friday was the first day of the sale open to the public. Thursday evening the sale was open only to members of the Friends of the Billings Public Library.
One couple left Friday's sale with the help of a library cart loaded with their purchases. "The busier day is Friday," said Sue Bach, a volunteer who helped organize the sale. "Those people who just wait for this book sale are hardcore and are waiting at the door."
Waiting at the door means standing outside the library before it opens at 10 a.m.
Book categories available include fiction, nonfiction, classics, drama, poetry, hobbies, crafts, self-help, cookbooks, nonfiction and biography. Book prices are $2 for hardcover, $1 for trade paperbacks and 50 cents for small paperbacks. DVDs are $3 or priced as marked. Audiobooks are priced as marked. CDS are also available for purchase at the sale.
The sale opens again Saturday at 10 a.m. and will end at 4:30 p.m.
Money raised supplements a variety of library programs, Bach said.
"These books are 100 percent donated by the community," Bach said. "There's thousands of stories probably in terms of where these books come from. It is a gift outright from the community and a gift that is poured right back into the library."
